Like several movies that have been put through the Mystery Science Theater 3000 wringer THE GREEN SLIME is better than its title or reputation would lead you to think. With a title like THE GREEN SLIME, convincing you that it is better than you are expecting is going to be an uphill battle. But if you'll bear with me, I'll explain why this is actually a pretty darn good 1960's science fiction film and why seeing it in HD is, for certain fans, a truly joyous experience.
Sometime in the near future, a massive asteroid has been detected hurtling toward Earth. Commander Jack Rankin (Robert Horton) is ordered to lead a rocket expedition to land on the big space rock, plant explosives and blast that planet killer to dust. This plan goes well but while on the surface of the asteroid the team encounters a strange green goo that accidentally gets tracked back to the orbiting space station Gamma 3. Once there this tiny bit of slime grows exponentially, eventually turning into a bizarre one-eyed tentacle monster with the ability to discharge bolts of electricity at any threat. The now trapped humans must find a way to capture or kill this creature but there is a major disagreement about best methods. Commander Rankin is a brash military minded fellow who favors overwhelming force, while Gamma 3's Commander Vince Elliot (Richard Jaeckel) thinks that maybe some thought should be put into how this unique problem is approached. This battle of wills becomes even more heated because both men are in love with Lisa Benson (Luciana Paluzzi), the space station's doctor. Elliot's first plan to net the monster fails, injuring Elliot in the process so Rankin grabs a raygun and takes charge, blasting the creature and trapping it in a sealed room. This proves to not be the perfect solution as the monster's blood is then discovered to be capable of spawning identical new critters from even tiny drops. That means all that blasting just made the problem much worse. Soon the space station is overrun with green tentacle monsters and our two heroes are struggling to find a way to destroy them so that they don't reach the Earth and decimate humanity.
There is so much in THE GREEN SLIME to recommend that it's hard to know where to start! First, the justifiably famous theme song is a guitar driven rock & roll gem that combines ludicrous lyrics, a pounding beat and the sci-fi whine of a Theremin to create an unforgettable musical experience. You might never get this catchy tune out of your head - you have been warned! Then there is the shock of realizing that, having come expecting a low-rent effort, you might be pleasantly surprised by the high level of competence on display. This film looks like a million bucks because it was filmed in Japan by exceptionally talented people capable of great work and, as a co-production with MGM, there was enough of a budget to craft a very good looking film. The sets and costumes are top notch, giving the entire affair a solid reality that is only broken by the occasionally (but typical) old-fashioned rocket and space special effects work that can't help but date the film.
While Japanese studio Toei was responsible for making the movie, it was shepherded to the screen by producers Walter Manley and Ivan Reiner. These two men were looking to take advantage of the unexpected success MGM had three years earlier producing four cheap Italian science fiction films directed by Antonio Margheritti (WILD WILD PLANET, WAR OF THE PLANETS, WAR BETWEEN THE PLANETS and SNOW DEVILS). This unofficial fifth film's only real connection to the previous movies is the reuse of the design of the Gamma 3 station, but it can be fun to imagine that they all take place in the same very dangerous universe.
As a film aimed at a younger audience, one of the primary attractions is the creature effects and on that account things are good enough that even overgrown kids can enjoy them! While the multiple green monsters are obviously classic men-in-suit affairs, the quality of the costumes is high and director Kinji Fukasaku (responsible for The BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY series, BATTLE ROYALE, etc.) is smart in how he frames the action to make the bipedal beasts a credible threat. We get to see them well and often but their attacks are cleverly edited to make what could be (and sometimes still is) silly, an actual plausible menace. Adding to the flailing rubber tentacles, the electrical effects of both practical explosive sparks and animated lightening gives the intended horror some credible danger and amps up the excitement as well. The director shows not just a clever eye but a good sense of pacing once the story is past it's first act. He's able to keep the soap opera romance subplot minimally intrusive so as to not distract from the escalating problem of how to deal with space station crewmembers dying left and right.
The script for GREEN SLIME came from the MGM side of the production with writers Charles Sinclair and William Finger getting main screenplay credit as they had for the last of the Margheritti films, SNOW DEVILS. And yes, that is the famous Bill Finger who was the co-creator of Batman and spent his later years penning TV and film scripts before his death in 1974. I have to wonder if these two men used assignments like this one to work out certain ideas about how heroic protagonists should act. The film sets up a tense rivalry between the male leads centered on conflicting theories of how best to lead men in life threatening situations. Rankin is the shoot-from-the-hip man of action while Elliot prefers to think through a situation before charging into danger. This disagreement about how to deal with Gamma 3's monster trouble could have become an interesting duel of philosophies but, as you might expect, things are tilted in the direction that brings on the kind of kinetic action that can't help but smother the embers of a fascinating concept.
Of course, the action-taking character will always be more interesting to watch onscreen, putting the more cerebral character at an automatic disadvantage and therefore bending the discussion out of shape. It might be asking a little too much of a fairly goofy SF premise of this kind to give the viewer a lot of food for thought beyond the obvious eye candy thrills the genre supplies. But I can see the outlines of an intriguing idea along the story's margins that might have kept the writer's frontal lobes engaged while the rest of the scenario appealed to their animal brain - just as it does for me! That being said, not all visions of the future carry through on some ideas as well as others and the choice Lisa Benson has to make is right out of a housewife dilemma tale from the women's magazines of the day. As might be expected, the resolution to this "romantic love triangle" will end in typical 1960's fashion, with our heroine choosing the manliest man. At first, Lisa's affections seem honestly torn between the nice guy Elliot and the (to be blunt) jerk Rankin. This romantic conflict seems set in place by screenwriting convention with the viewer wondering why she'd have anything to do with the one that treats her like a possession, ordering her around like a slave. It certainly speaks volumes about the character's view of her own worth in this rather retro future. But then again, maybe I'm looking for hidden depths in a shallow pool. It might be best to just enjoy the fun surface things present in GREEN SLIME and let deeper thoughts float away.
Luckily, enjoying this film is made a good deal easier with this new Warner Archives Blu-Ray release. WA had previously put the film out as a Burn-On-Demand DVD-R which looked quite good but the transfer here is an improvement, giving the colors more pop and sharpening the image to a great degree. As an upgrade for fans I can easily recommend it. I've watched this film on every format since VHS with this definitely being the best looking version yet. Being able to spot some of the fine grain details of the sets and monster suits in this presentation makes GREEN SLIME seem more vibrant even if it also enhances the limitations of the technical capabilities of the times. It's a beautiful film and this is a wonderful way to see it. My sole complaint is that WA once again has issued a legendary cult movie in a bare bones package. This is a film that cries out for background information, interviews and commentary tracks to give it some historical prominence in the genre and elevate it's reputation. Here's hoping that a special edition is somewhere down the road.
